The Darkness Waits
by Kelaine729
Summary: Near the village of Middlemist, something had waited a long time to make a bargain. On a night of blood and horror, a woman named Nimue finally offered what it wanted.
1. Chapter 1

The wedding procession, that was where the memory always started. No matter how many times Nimue told herself to stop thinking about it, she would find herself remembering how beautiful it had been as Blodeuwedd and she watched from the hill. Nimue remembered how simple her worries had been that night. She worried that Blodeuwedd's curls would get loose from their braid or that the wreath of flowers she wore would fall off her head and get lost. She worried that Blodeuwedd, only twelve years old, would fall asleep before the moon rose over the trees. But, Blodeuwedd's braid stayed put and neither of them lost their wreaths. As for sleep, Blodeuwedd was too excited to think of closing her eyes.

Weddings in the village of Middlemist were always held at night when the moon rose. The groom (in this case, Nimue's widower father) started at his house, taking a long route round the village, gathering his friends and kin, ending at the bride's doorstep (Blodeuwedd's widowed mother). Then, the happy couple took another long, winding way back, gathering the bride's family and friends. In such a small village, that meant just about everyone marching along, carrying candles and torches to light their way.

Everyone but Nimue and Blodeuwedd. It was their job to greet the wedding couple at the cottage gates, a garland of flowers held high on poles between them. Their parents would have spoken their vows beneath it then gone into the house, where every light had been extinguished. There, the newlyweds would kindle the fire on the on the hearth for the first time as husband and wife. Everyone would douse the lights they had brought, relighting them from that kindled flame. It would have been followed by feasting and dancing till the moon set.

Instead, the procession's lights had made them easy targets for Vortigan and his men. The raiders had been waiting for them just at the point where the path winded towards the hill where Nimue and her father lived. There was a large copse of trees on either side where the soldiers had remained hidden. Others were positioned to come up from behind. There was nowhere to run.

Only Nimue and Blodeuwedd, standing at the dark house, no lights anywhere near them, had gone unseen

She remembered Blodeuwedd screaming as the attack began, as people started to die, but she didn't think the soldiers had heard. Even know, her memories of those first few minutes were confused and fragmentary, jumbled images that never seemed to fit together. She remembered Blodeuwedd screaming. She remembered everyone screaming. The two things must have happened together, but they ran like separate stories in her mind, unconnected. Nimue had grabbed Blodeuwedd, forcing her into the woods. Like all the others, the memory felt separate from the rest. But, she knew it was what had happened. How else could they have escaped to the woods? She knew she and Blodeuwedd had run.

Was that her mistake? They could have gone to the root cellar and hidden under piles of old vegetables. They could have gone to the barn and hidden in the hay. Or, what if they'd run _towards_ the village, keeping hidden in the ditches. The soldiers would never have expected that, would they? And, maybe, they'd have been able to help.

Or if Nimue had just chosen a different route through the woods. The footpath had seemed too dangerous. Other soldiers might be waiting there, watching for anyone who escaped. Even if they weren't, it would be easy for anyone coming after them to ride them down. They could have just wandered through the trees, hoping to stay hidden. But, that was a good way to wind up wandering in circles in the dark, easy prey.

Instead, had listened for the sound of the stream and headed towards it. It had seemed like a good idea at the time. Nimue thought it would hide their scent. It also gave them something to follow, to make sure they were moving away from the village, not towards it.

She'd tried, as terrified as she'd been that night, she'd _tried._

They'd reached the old oak by the river bend with its hollow trunk. The villagers would know this spot, but Nimue doubted any outsiders would. It was a good spot to shelter. It was also near Ghost Hill. Even in the dark, Nimue thought she could find her way to the hill from here. She had Blodeuwedd hide in the oak and began making her way cautiously through the trees.

The Hill had an evil reputation. It was a pile of rocks and dirt where nothing grew but briars and a few weeds. Sheep that strayed there to graze sickened and often died. People avoided it by day and no one _ever_ went there by night.

But, it was the highest piece of ground hereabouts. Nimue should be able to see the village from there. There might be firelight from some of the homes, she'd thought. That would be a good thing, wouldn't it? Proof the attackers had been driven back or moved on. If there were campfires around the village, though, that would mean they were still there.

And, if there were lights moving along the road. . . . Any fleeing villagers were be keeping to the dark. Only raiders would use light. Her father, Blodeuwedd's mother, they would be doing what she was, staying in the shadows. If they were out there, she wouldn't be able to see them.

It didn't matter. She had to look, to learn whatever she could.

There wasn't even an animal track leading up the hill. Wild beasts kept away from it. For barren ground, it seemed to have more than its fair share of roots and branches for her to trip over. But, battered and bruised, the palms of her hands scratched and bleeding from too many falls, Nimue was almost to the top, close enough to see the circle.

She'd never seen it before, but everyone knew about the circle. There were thirteen old, weathered stones at the top of the hill. Some asked what else would you expect to find at the top of a pile of stones, which was all the hill was? Some even seemed to believe that.

Others said the stones resembled curved, gnarled teeth and saw how they stood (more or less) in a circle, like a mouth closing on its prey, and didn't try making excuses for the fear they felt.

Even in the darkness, Nimue could see them, black against black. Tonight, as they rose into sight as she neared the top of the hill, they looked not so much like teeth as dancers, ghostly shadows twisting to a slow, inhuman music. The frightened sound of her blood, beating in her ears, was like a drumbeat keeping time.

Whatever the truth of the circle, no one doubted someone—or something—had placed the stone that lay in its center. It wasn't any sort of rock quarried in these parts. A black altar stone with veins of blood red, it had marks were carved on it in a language no one knew.

They said the place gave bad dreams to those who walked here, and there were stories about how any foolish enough to come at night suffered strange accidents or went mad. Nimue thought she might be safe so long as she walked around the stones. If there was anything dangerous, surely it was _inside_ the circle, wasn't it? That was what she told herself to do—what she _meant_ to do—until she reached the crest of the hill and saw the red light in the distance. Then, she took off at a run.

The village was burning. Nimue thought of the candles Blodeuwedd and she had watched earlier, moving like fireflies through the night. Now, everything she knew was being devoured in flames. She stared at the end of everything she knew, before staggering back. She would have fallen if the altar stone hadn't been behind her. Nimue put a hand behind her, steadying herself against the cold rock. Her hands were damp with sweat and blood from scratches she'd picked up searching her way through the dark.

She heard hoof beats.

There was no place to run even if Nimue had been able to. All she could do was drop to her knees, crouching low behind the stone as two horsemen came up the hill.

 _Don't let them see me,_ she prayed silently to anything that might listen. _Please, please, don't let them see me._

"What are we doing up here?" one of the riders said.

"Vortigan said to search," the other said.

"So? What's sitting on a hill got to do with searching?"

"If anyone got away with it, this is where they'd come. That's what he says, and he should know."

"You think anyone escaped _that?_ We got all the stragglers. There's no one left."

"Then we've got an easy job, haven't we? Don't complain."

"Hmph. At least the others can warm themselves by a fire, can't they?"

"So, be glad it's not raining. Now, stop your whining."

How long would they be here? Till morning? Even if she could stay hidden through the night, they would see her as soon as the sun came up. And what about Blodeuwedd? What would she do when Nimue didn't come back? What if she came to the hill, looking for her?"

 _Help me,_ she whispered silently, her hand still against the stone. _If there's anyone out there, help me!_

Nimue had a strange feeling, as if something had turned and looked at her. She could feel hungry eyes boring into her.

 _I can help you,_ a silent voice said. _For a price. What do you want? What will you give me for it?_

Nimue froze, not daring to breathe. Blood thundered in her ears.

 _Who—who are you?_

 _Nothing. An old shadow. A faded memory from long ago. But, I can help. What do you want?_

She was mad, Nimue thought. After everything that had happened, she'd gone mad.

 _What do you want?_

Nimue swallowed. Mad or not, she needed whatever help she could get. _To go back safe to Blodeuwedd. For none of these men—or any others—to see me._

There was a pause, as if the shadows were weighing her words.

 _Yes. . . ._ The voice in her head was measured, considering. Then, in clipped tones, it said, _Yes, I can do this. But, you must give me leave to enter you._

Nimue barely kept from gasping. _What?_

 _Oh, nothing harmful,_ the shadow said. _Nothing dangerous. I'm nothing, only a shadow, a wisp of night. But, I can keep the men from seeing you and help you get away. The rest is up to you. Do we have a deal?_

Nimue thought of Blodeuwedd, hiding in the dark. She thought of her father and Blodeuwedd's mother and everyone else she knew, dead in their village.

 _Yes,_ she said. _Come into me. Help me. I'll do whatever you want._

She heard something like a rippling laugh. _I love it when they say that._ Then, the shadow settled against her.

Nimue didn't know what she'd expected. Something horrible. Something that hurt, burning from inside. This felt gentle and soft, almost like a blanket.

 _That's it,_ the shadow said. _Now, get up and walk away—walk towards that stone, over there. Stop when you reach it._

 _Walk!?_ Nimue thought. _Are you insane? They'll see me!_

Again, that feeling like laughter. _Not inside the circle. But, my strength is weaker outside it. That's why we must go carefully. Walk to the stone. Or crawl, if you feel safer. But, go._

Nimue crept across the circle, trying to keep low, wondering if the shadow was trying to kill her. _If it is, I can run from here._ The space beyond that stone was clear. She might be able to plunge downhill and into the trees before the men could catch her. It was small comfort.

 _Yes, you might,_ the shadow said. _But you won't have to. Don't be afraid._

Nimue stopped when she reached the stone, more out of terror than any faith in her invisible guide. She forced herself to breath slowly and silently instead of taking the great, gasping breaths she longed to.

 _You're doing quite well,_ the shadow assured her. _Now, reach down. Do you see the bush with the white berries growing against the stone? Pick as many as you can. You'll need at least thirteen for what you must to do. More is better. You may be wanting as many as you can carry before the night is through._

Nimue pulled out her handkerchief, knotting the corners together to make it into a small sack as quickly as her shaking hands would let her. Hastily, she began filling it, looking over her shoulder, but the men never even glanced at her.

When she was finished, the shadow said, _Well done, Nimue. Now, go to around the circle and place a berry at the foot of each stone. It will make a spell, in case you're wondering. A very useful one._

Shakily, Nimue placed a berry at the foot of the stone she was crouching against. _What are they? s_ he asked. _I thought I knew every plant that grew in these forests. What are these?_

 _Something that doesn't grow here, obviously. There was a man once, Epimetheus. Have you ever heard of him?_

 _No._

 _No? What a pity. He was a great adventurer and went where few would dare. He brought fire back from dark places. His brother, Prometheus, tried to steal it from him but failed and paid the price for it. Epimetheus placed the stone on this hill, to guard his work. The berries were something he brought back with him. In all the world, they only grow here._

 _People have been on this hill before,_ Nimue said. _No one ever spoke of them._

 _They only grow at certain times and certain seasons. They are shy of daylight. Like me._

Slowly, Nimue went to the next stone. And the next. When she reached the fourth stone, one of the guards turned and looked right at her, then looked away as though she weren't even there.

"Have you got anything to drink?" he asked his companion.

"All out. Bet you the others are good and drunk by now. Did you see all the wine those villagers were carrying? You'd think the general could have given us a nip before sending us off. I bet it's all gone by the time we get back."

The other snorted. "I won't take that bet."

Nimue started to breathe again. She went on to the next stone. _It's true,_ she told her companion. _They can't see me._

 _You see? I told you I could keep you safe._

When Nimue put down the last berry, she asked, _Is that it?_

 _It is. Step out of the circle. Go down the hill. You're hidden from all eyes looking for you._

Taking a deep breath, Nimue stepped into the dark. There was an odd feeling as she passed the stones, something that made her hair stand on end. She waited a heartbeat, then two. But, no shouts came after her. She had the strangest feeling that something more had just happened. But, when she looked behind her, the men hadn't moved. She seemd just as invisible outside the circle as in. Deciding not to press her luck any further, she looked away, making her way downhill as quickly as she could.

The hill wasn't so bad this time. The roots didn't reach out to trip her. If anything, she could imagine them getting out of her way. But, she'd expected things to get harder once she reached the trees. She' should have been walking almost blind. Her plan had been to listen for the stream again and move towards it. Once there, she thought she could get her bearings and follow the water till she found the oak again. Instead, the forest seemed . . . not bright. She couldn't make out any colors. Everything was velvet black. But, the shadows stood out against each other in a way she didn't have the words to describe. Every shape was distinct and solid.

 _How can I see this?_

The voice inside her was smug. _You have a shadow inside you. Why shouldn't you see in the dark?_

Why shouldn't she? Nimue bit back the urge to laugh like a mad woman. Right now, she had to reach Blodeuwedd. She ignored everything except moving as quickly as she dared till she reached the oak.

"Blodeuwedd?" she whispered. "Blodeuwedd, it's me. I'm back."

That was when she heard the soft moan and smelled the sweet-salt scent of blood.

Blodeuwedd lay inside the hollow. With her new eyes, Nimue could see the black-on-black trails of blood where a sword had stabbed her in the guts.

She remembered the men on the hill. What was it they'd said? _We got all the stragglers._

"Nimue?" Blodeuwedd whispered. "Nimue, it hurts. . . . Stop it . . . please. . . ."

Numbly, Nimue knelt beside her, pulling the torn cloth around Blodeuwedd's wound. She'd bandaged enough cuts in her time and sewn them closed, but she'd never dealt with anything like this.

 _Shadow,_ she whispered to the darkness inside her. _Shadow, help me. Tell me how to heal her._

 _. . . . I cannot,_ the shadow said. _I'm sorry. I warned you. I am nothing but a voice these days. What little power I have was in the circle, and it is not strong enough for this._

 _There must be something you can do,_ Nimue said. _There_ must _!_

Nimue had the feeling she'd had before when she first met the shadow, that it was watching her silently, like a cat eying its prey.

. . . . _There is one thing._

 _What? Tell me! I'll do anything for Blodeuwedd. Anything!_

She felt the shadow's grim amusement, but it only said, _Then, if you would end her suffering . . . give her one of the berries._

 _The berries? Those will heal her?_

 _They will end her suffering._

Nimue stared into the darkness. _You don't mean—you can't—_

 _I cannot heal, not anymore. Do nothing and she will be a long time dying. She will suffer greatly before the end. Do this, and she will not._

Nimue stared down at Blodeuwedd's face. Her new vision let her clearly see the girl's pain. _You knew,_ she said. _When you told me I might want more berries. You knew this had happened to her._

The shadow didn't deny it. _I felt blood,_ it said. _The men who came after you carried it with them. In that place, blood calls out to me. I could see how they shed it._

Nimue took one of the berries out of her handkerchief. It was small and white. She was able to see its color, she realized, even in the darkness.

"Here," she said, pressing it against Blodeuwedd's lips. "Eat this. It—it will make it better."

Blodeuwedd opened her mouth and swallowed. Nimue watched as the lines of pain faded away. "Oh," Blodeuwedd whispered. "Oh, that's better." She closed her hand around Nimue's. "What did you see?" she asked. "Up on the hill. What's happening?"

"I—I—"

 _Let me,_ the shadow said. _Let me speak through your mouth. I will comfort her._

Nimue nodded. She licked her lips and let the shadow's lies tumble out. "They're gone" she said. I could see the soldiers being routed. There weren't as many as we thought. They set a few fires, but our people were putting them out. It gave me enough light to see. There were dead riders lying on the ground, but none of our people. Women were bandaging the wounded."

"Mama?"

"She wore the white dress Papa gave her. I could see it in the moonlight. Papa stood by her. They'll be with us soon. Once it's light enough to see, we can go look for them."

"Want . . . want Mama." Blodeuwedd's voice was getting weaker.

"Soon," the shadow whispered. "You'll be with her soon. Rest now. Sleep will make the day come faster."

Nimue held Blodeuwedd as she passed into sleep and then beyond sleep.

 _We should be moving,_ the shadow said.

 _No._

 _Nimue, I can't fight for you. I haven't the power. If anyone finds you here, it could be bad._

 _You hid me from the soldiers on the hill. They looked right at me and couldn't see me._

The shadow paused. _The man who led them. You heard his name?_

Nimue thought back to what had been said on the hill. _Vortigan?_

 _I know that name. He is a wizard. He understands darkness. It would not be good for either of us to be found by him right now._

 _I can't just_ leave _her here!_

There was another pause. Nimue could feel the shadow thinking. _Drop the rest of the berries on the gound,_ it said. _I can do that much. They will hide this place, shelter it. Vortigan is looking for the living, not the dead. She will rest peacefully here._

Nimue squeezed Blodeuwedd's cold hand. _I can't._

 _If you stay here, if you are found, Vortigan will kill you. If that happens, he wins. Escape him, and you may still have a chance at justice._

 _Justice?_ Nimue thought of Blodeuwedd, of her father and Blodeuwedd's mother. She thought of all the other dead she was leaving behind. _I don't want justice._ She smoothed Blodeuwedd's hair and folded the little girl's hands together in her lap, trying to cover her wounds. She hesitated, still not wanting to leave her like this. She looked at the wreath of pink and white flowers woven through Blodeuwedd's hair. The flowers were still fresh and blooming. Nimue knew how to nurture a cutting into new life. If she took these, if she reached another village in time, she might be able to replant them, to make them grow.

 _I don't want justice,_ she told the shadow again. _I want revenge._

Inside her, the shadow seemed to laugh. _I can live with that._

Nimue got up, dropping the remaining berries outside the hollow. She walked into the darkness, never looking back.

X

The next morning, the horses of the soldiers who had been sent to the hill came racing back to camp, wild-eyed and riderless. When Vortigan and his men went searching for them, they found them dead in the circle. They had been dead for hours, by the look of them.

"How did they die?" One of his men asked. "There's not a mark on them."

Vortigan pointed to the bushes that grew all over the hill. They were a strange plant, not one any of the men had ever seen before, so dark as to be almost black. Their oddly lobed leaves curved like small, taloned hands about to close on their prey. They were covered with death-white berries. "I know this herb," Vortigan said. "It's not without its uses, but even a bit is deadly poison. Leave their bodies. Better not even to touch men Epimetheus' flower has killed. And best to be away. This is an ill-omened place."

The soldiers looked at their dead companions, unwilling just to abandon them. Then, they looked at the black altar and the thirteen stones and nodded, riding away. Vortigan came last, making sure all his men were safely away.

Before following them, he glanced at the stone.

 _Was the sacrifice acceptable?_ he asked. _All the village was for you, but only two died within your circle._

 _There was a third,_ the shadows answered. _She offered herself to me. When the time comes, you yourself will shed her blood for me._

 _Should I hunt her down?_

 _No need. She will come of her own free will._

Vortigan bowed. _As you wish._ He turned away and followed his men.

In the heart of the circle, the darkness seemed to smile, waiting for their return.


	2. The Apprentice's Warning

I am the master's apprentice. If I had a name before I met the master, no one told it to me. I was just 'boy' or 'hand.' I was hand because, when people needed an extra pair of hands, they would call for me.

Master said I would find my real name soon enough if I waited, and he was right. But, it didn't happen the way I thought it would. I didn't happen the way the master thought it would either.

There are three stories I need to tell, about the grail, Nimue, and Prometheus' fire. Two of these are master's secrets. Maybe, if I'm lucky, master will be all right and he'll be the one to find this. But, if he's not, someone needs to understand.

Master told me about the grail because I told him I hoped my name would be Ari. I told master this because of the stars, but he didn't know what I meant so I had to tell him. I showed him Ari in the sky. Master said that was the constellation called the Great Bear or _Arktos._ He asked me who had taught me my stars, but I don't remember. I went from village to village before master found me. Sometimes, I had to go through fields and woods. So, I had to know the stars. Everyone knows, Ari—the bear—will always point you right.

Master knows lots of things, more than anyone else in the world. He's had a long time to learn it. I didn't believe the people in the town when they told me how old he was, but the master says it's mostly true. Because he is so old and has so many books, master knows things no one else does, though he is teaching me some.

Some of his books are written in languages no one else knows. He is teaching me how to read some of them. That's why I thought I understood when I saw him writing about someone named "Ari-metheus." I asked if that meant "bear-sight." I thought bear-sight must mean seeing the right way to go or maybe it meant some kind of guarding, because everyone knows how bears fight to protect what's theirs.

When I asked, master looked at me funny. He told me it meant neither. Or maybe both. Master is always like that when you try to get an answer out of him.

He said Arimetheus was a guardian who lived a long time ago. That's when he asked me if I knew what the grail was.

Master asks questions like that. People who've lived their whole lives in towns or villages know all kinds of strange things they think are important that I never knew before master began to teach me. But, there are things people in towns—even master—never seem to know. When I first met master, winter was coming on and I was bedding down in a muckheap. Master saw me and asked me _why_ I was sleeping in a muckheap, like he never thought about how a muckheap is warm. Besides, people don't much care if you sleep in a muckheap but they'll chase you out of their barns.

So, master wasn't sure I would know about the grail. I told him even _babies_ know it's a cup with all kinds of magic that can do just about anything and let people live forever.

Master says that's wrong. It isn't _magic,_ it's _holy._ I asked what the difference was.

Master knows things but, sometimes, he doesn't know how to explain them. He tried for a long without making much sense. Finally, he asked me, if I made a promise, if I would keep it?

He asked because I had trouble with promises when I first met him. Lots of people don't keep promises. Sometimes, people promise you food if you do some work. Then, they say you did it wrong or throw the food to the pigs and tell you to fight them for it.

Master says that's wrong and a man is only as good as his word. I think master is right. Pig-feeders aren't very good at all. So, I try to be better than them. Since master made he his apprentice, I keep any promise I make him.

Master said it's not magic that makes you keep a promise, it's your honor, it's something good inside you. Holy is like that only more. Master says it is like the honor of the heavens. He asked if I understood that, and I said maybe. Master says sometimes maybe is good enough to start with.

So, the grail is holy. He says its guardians get gifts or powers to help them protect it. Arimetheus lived in a land master calls the Empire of the Wolf. It was called this because it was started by two brothers, Romulus and Remus, who were raised by a wolf. I guess they were werewolves. Master didn't say. For a long time, their empire was really strong and big. Then, there was a war, and they were losing it.

Master says guardians have lots of powers but not for fighting. It's one of the promises they make. They can't use their power to kill, not ever. Arimetheus used it to find how to get away from their enemies. He led a lot of people to safety. Then, he let the soldiers come after him and leave the people alone. Master says, before the soldiers caught him, "the way opened up." I don't know what that means except he came here.

Master says there have been other guardians since Arimetheus, even if he didn't say their names. Master also said this story isn't for sharing. Like a secret, like a holy promise, it's not for everyone.

But, I am putting it here. I didn't say I wouldn't tell but I know master didn't want me to, so it was like a promise. But, I need to put it here. If anything has happened to master, whoever finds this will need to know.

Maybe I'm wrong. I hope I'm wrong. I know master can never use his magic to hurt people, I know he has lived a long time, and I know he has taken something secret and powerful with him tonight. There's only one thing I think it can be, but I hope I'm wrong. Because master told one other person about the grail. He told Nimue.

Nimue is the second story I need to tell. It's not secret. I tried to tell master, but he wouldn't listen. Before she came, it was just us. There were a couple village girls who came and cleaned. Different villagers brought us meals. We don't need a housekeeper.

Master thinks that's why I'm upset. I didn't have a family or a home before him. He tells me not to worry. I'll always be his apprentice. Nimue being here doesn't change that.

That's not why I don't like her. I just don't trust her. Master does. There are lots of things Master knows that I don't, but he doesn't know as much about people. He says his life was hard before he became a wizard, and I know he doesn't lie. But, he's really old, even if he doesn't look it. I don't think he remembers what it was like. I think he forgets how mean people can be. When he sees them, they want help or advice. They want magic to heal sick people. It doesn't matter if they're good or not, they're not _stupid._ They'd have to be stupid to steal his food or kick him if he asked to be paid. He says he worries that I don't see the good in people. But, I worry because he doesn't see the bad.

Nimue showed up at the town gates. There was blood on her dress. The guards—it was Owain the tanner and Berwyn of North Farm, the villagers take turns—said she stared like she couldn't even see them, like she was mad. They brought her to the master, who gave her medicine. After she drank it, she cried and screamed and said her whole village had been killed. She said she knew the master was the greatest wizard alive, and he could help her. Master asked her what she wanted him to do, and she said she wanted revenge.

I don't know what master expected her to say. All the townsfolk agreed with her. They would have wanted revenge, too.

But, master was looking right at her when she said it. I think he saw something then, the same thing I see In Nimue all the time, even if he doesn't want to believe it.

Whatever it was, master looked at her like what she said was a roach crawling out her mouth. She saw the look on his face. She saw the way he backed away from her. I _know_ she did. But, master didn't see it.

She said real fast she wanted her village to be remembered. That was the revenge she wanted. She showed him this flower wreath she'd been carrying. There was lots of dried blood on it and the flowers were almost dead with half their petals gone. She said these flowers only grew around her village. All the rest of them had burned when it did. If master could do something, make these grow, the village of Middlemist wouldn't be forgotten.

So, master took the flowers and used magic. Now, they grow around the village. They don't grow very well, but master makes sure some are always alive.

Master really believes that's what she wanted from the start. He thinks he was wrong just thinking she wanted what anybody would want when raiders kill their family and everyone they know. _I_ would want it if raiders burned the town, and I don't even like towns.

But, master trusts people. He says I need to trust more.

Maybe.

But, I saw the way Nimue was watching him. I saw how fast the look on her face changed when master got sick when she talked about revenge. But, I saw something else, too.

There was something in her eyes. For a second, it was like it wasn't her. It was something else looking out of her.

Master let Nimue stay with us. She keeps house and makes our food. I won't eat it. I pretend to but I'd dig roots and fight pigs for slop before I'd eat it. But, I don't have to. Everyone here knows me. Old ladies pinch my cheeks and offer me muffins. If I look sad and hungry when they're baking, they always give me some.

Master can see the future, some of it. I asked him what he sees around Nimue. He says he can't see her at all.

I've read master's books. I know the rules, some of them. Sometimes, there are people who are too close to your own life—that's what the books call it. Sometimes, they have futures you can't see. That's what master thinks it is. He thinks he loves her. He thinks she loves him.

But, the books only say _sometimes._ They don't say _always._

I think there are ways to hide from a wizard, even a wizard like master.

That story's not over yet, but I think it will be soon. I'll tell you why. But, first, I need to tell you the third story, so you can undersetand.

This is the other story master told me. Once, there were two brothers who were wizards. One was Epimetheus. He could see the past. The other was Prometheus. He saw the future. They were both clever and powerful. Prometheus liked to make things. But, Epimetheus liked to travel and find out secrets.

There was also a witch. She was called Pandora, the Gift-Giver. She was like Prometheus. She made all kinds of clever spells. Pandora was going to marry Prometheus, but Epimetheus didn't want her to. He tried to find some magic to make her love him. One of the things he tried was really terrible. It's called the Curse-of-the-Bitter-Hearted. Master says magic can't make someone fall in love, but it can make someone think they're in love.

When master told me this, I didn't understand that. If you think you're in love, how's that different from being in love? But, now, I know Nimue. I see master when he's with her.

He thinks he loves her, and he doesn't know her at all.

Prometheus must have thought he knew his brother. Maybe he did. But, his brother changed. He tricked him and trapped him. He tied him down to an altar and was going to rip his heart out to use in his curse, only Pandora stopped him. She had a pet songbird she turned into a giant eagle. It attacked Epimetheus long enough for her to free Prometheus. Together, they drove Epimetheus away.

I wish I could do that. I wish it was that easy. I would fight Nimue to protect master. I would get one of the guard's swords, or a bow and arrow, or just hit her with a rock if I thought that would stop her. It won't. And master wouldn't understand. Not in time.

Epimetheus ran away. But, wherever he went, he looked for secrets of dark magic. He learned all kinds, but none of it told him how to beat his brother and get what he wanted, not till he found his way to the Underworld.

Master wouldn't tell me much about this. He said I could learn the whole story when I'm older. He says there are some things I don't need to know yet. I told master I know a lot more than he thinks I do. He told me I don't know about this and he hopes I don't for a long time.

Now, I've looked at Nimue and seen the thing behind her eyes. Now, I know master was right, and there are things I wish I didn't know.

But, all I knew then was Epimetheus did awful, terrible stuff worse than muckheaps and being beaten up by a fat farm boy who wants your last piece of bread when you haven't eaten for three days and he went to the Underworld.

There was dark fire in the Underworld, fire that would die if it saw the light of day or even the light of stars and moon. But, Epimetheus took the fire and hid it in his heart where it would be safe. But, fire isn't grateful. Fire's only hungry. It burnt up his heart. That's what master said. There was nothing left of Epimetheus except all his hate and anger and the darkness burning inside him.

Master says he meant to let that darkness loose on all the world. There was a spell he had to do. I don't know what that was. Master wouldn't let me that, either. Maybe I could have warned him if I knew. Maybe I could have shown him that Nimue's doing the same thing. Or almost the same thing. There wasn't any grail when Epimetheus tried to cast his spell.

He was stopped because Prometheus could see the future. He saw enough to figure out what his brother was doing, and he and Pandora made a plan to stop him.

There's lots of stuff about magic in what happened next. I won't write all that here. It's complicated and I think master left out the parts he didn't think I'd understand yet. That doesn't matter, not anymore. If you find this in the house, if you read it, it's too late to use that to stop her. You need to understand the important things.

Epimetheus was dead. That's the most important thing to remember. The darkness ate him up.

Prometheus made a trap. Epimetheus—or the darkness—made an altar. He was going to do something terrible there, a spell that would destroy all the light magic.

But, Prometheus put thirteen stones around the place where he knew Epimetheus would work his spell. He hid them in the earth, then called them up when Epimetheus began his magic, trapping him there.

If you know a place like that, with an altar and thirteen stones, I think that is where it started. I think that is where Nimue is taking master. Maybe you can stop her there, maybe not. Maybe she will have gotten rid of the stones, but the altar will still be there. Remember that.

There was a great battle, and the darkness filled the circle and tried to destroy all the light within it. But, Pandora had made a magic box. Inside it, she had hidden hope. No matter what the darkness did, no matter how strong its spells, it could not snuff out the light of hope Pandora carried with her.

Master says that box still exists. He said the darkness never understood what it really was. It thought it was a trap Pandora made to hold it. It's not. It's meant to protect and hide things from the darkness, to keep them safe till it is the right time to let them out so they can help stop it.

Inside the circle, the darkness had enough power to blot out the light of moon and stars and it had Epimetheus body to hide in. But, when the sun came up, Pandora and Prometheus destroyed Epimetheus' body and the darkness was driven back.

It wasn't killed. It still had one place it could go, one place Prometheus couldn't destroy, the altar Epimetheus made for it. The altar is made of black stone with red veins. Like it is bleeding or like there is fire inside it trying to get out.

Master says no one knows where this altar is. The place is forgotten.

I wondered if it really was. Wouldn't people notice a place like that? A place with thirteen stones and a black altar. And, if they know about it and don't talk about it—if there's a reason master has never heard of it—then maybe the darkness is stronger than master thinks. Maybe it's hiding from him.

Master says, no. There are spells he can do that tell him about the magic in the world. Wherever they are, the thirteen stones still stand. The darkness is still inside the altar. He says he's looked and he knows the darkness hasn't gone outside it.

Master can't see Nimue, not with his magic.

I told him that. He wasn't angry. I thought he would be. He just laughed and told me not to worry about Nimue. Besides, he said, there are other things that protect against the darkness, things they didn't have back when Prometheus was alive.

He didn't say the grail, but I knew he meant it.

And he has told Nimue about the grail.

These are the last things, things that aren't stories, just pieces of what I know.

There is something called the death flower, the mistil. I have seen it in master's books. It has black leaves and a berry white as death. Under the picture in the book, master had written one word, underworld. Someone else had written, "sacrifices." I think it is one of the things master wouldn't talk about that Epimetheus did.

I thought about what Nimue said her village was called, _Middlemist_. It sounded like mistil. That is what everyone calls the flowers she brought, Middlemist.

Master would have said I'm wrong if I told him. Mistil isn't Middlemist, the same way Ari isn't bear.

I don't have sight, not like master, but I know some spells. I got some of Middlemist flowers and I cast a spell one on to show me the truth. I thought I would see them turn into death flowers. They didn't.

I saw a girl hiding in an oak tree. I saw raiders find her. They kicked her and beat her. Then, one of them drew his sword to kill her. But, the other stopped him. "She's not going anywhere," he said. "We can give her to Vortigen in the morning."

A woman came. I couldn't see her face but I heard her weep when she saw the girl. She begged someone I couldn't see to help her heal her.

The girl wasn't dying. She _wasn't._ She was hut and bleeding but she was going to live. But, the woman didn't think so.

She gave the girl a white berry to eat. First, the girl's pain went away. Then, she died.

The woman took a crown of flowers the girl wore on her head, Middlemist flowers, and carried it away with her. Before she left, she dropped more berries in front of the tree. Then, she walked away. The berries sprouted, sending out black vines that covered the tree, strangling it.

I saw a white owl with a girl's blue eyes sitting in the dead oak. It looked down at me.

 _She murdered me,_ the owl said.

"She thought you were dying," I said.

 _The shadow told her I would know pain. The shadow told her it couldn't keep me from dying. But, everything that lives knows pain and everything that lives dies. It told her the truth but it lied. I was the third life she took that night. It bound the darkness inside her. It is why she is hidden from your master's sight. The darkness wants her to set it free._

I ran back to the house, calling for my master. He wasn't there. Nimue was.

I would have run out, but the door slammed behind me without her touching it. She came at me with a knife. It had a white blade, like bone. The hilt was black oak but it was covered over with thin, black vines woven together.

I think she'd been back to the tree where the girl died. I think she made that knife from what she found there.

There was an iron pot sitting by the fireplace. I threw it at her, whispering a spell to make it remember what it was like when it was right out of the fire and boiling hot. That gave me enough time to get to my room and close the door. I rammed the chair from my work-desk under the knob to hold it in place while I pulled out a piece of chalk. Then, I drew a line and whispered a spell, trying not to notice how the door was shaking while Nimue tried to break it down. I got out of the way in time, just as the door burst into pieces. That's when I tried to get out the window and couldn't. It wouldn't open.

I looked back. Nimue couldn't get in. I could see the dark thing in her eyes. But, she smiled when she saw me.

"Clever," she said. "You had to have a steady hand to draw that in time. You think you're very brave, don't you? A little lion." Her eyes narrowed as she said it. I could feel what she was doing, naming me. I saw a woman dying. She held a baby in her arms and whispered a name, "Little Lion," she said. "My Little Lion."

"There," Nimue said. "Aren't you glad? Now, you won't die nameless. Darkness touched her, you know. That's why I know what she named you. Little Lion. And darkness has touched you. Come out, Little Lion, come out and play with me."

I could feel her spell, feel how she was using my name against me.

But, I didn't go. "I'm the master's apprentice," I told her, fighting the thing I could feel pulling me toward the door. "What are you? A really awful cook who tried to read the master's notes while you let the beans burn. You think that makes you powerful? You can't even make decent slop for the pigs. Why do you think we don't keep any? Master knows you'd poison them. And you think you can cast a spell?"

"You can't get out of the room, can you?" Nimue said, but I could see she was mad. "Little Lion, come out."

I felt that pull again. It was stronger. But, I'd made the line, and she couldn't cross it. "No."

Nimue was angry, but there was nothing she could do. Or I thought there wasn't.

She put a little pile of white berries in front of where the door had been. "You never eat my cooking, Little Lion. Did you think I wouldn't notice? I have a special treat just for you." I could see her working the spell, trying to make my name part of it. "The line you drew protects you, but, the moment you leave this room, my spell will catch you. You will taste the berries I've brought for you. I am the first person who has spoken your name since your mother gave it to you, and I have put all the power of it into this spell. You will eat them. It doesn't matter that you know what they are. You will taste the berries I've brought for you.

"Or, you will stay in that room, and I will take care of you when I return. Don't think you're master will stop me. He will understand soon why I'm doing this."

That was all she said. She left the berries there and walked away.

I am writing all this down just in case. There's a some magic I think can hide it so only the right person finds it. If you found this, I've told you everything I know about Nimue. I think she's wrong. The master's only helping her because she tricked him. He won't ever "understand" why she's doing it. He couldn't even understand why she wanted revenge.

But, if you find this, you've found the box I put it in. I remembered what master told me about the box Pandora made. I thought it might be one of the other things he kept hidden. So, I found it. I kept it with me in case I needed it.

Nimue's wrong. I don't know if what she told me about my mother was true, if that was really my name or if Nimue knew it because the darkness touched her. Nimue lies about everything. Maybe she thought, if I believed it was my name, that was good enough. Magic is like that. You have to believe in it for it to work.

Anyhow, the woman Nimue showed me gave me that name for different reasons that Nimue did. Nimue gave it to me because it's a trap. She wants to use it to kill me.

I know who I am. I know the name that belongs to me. I choose it for myself.

I guard. I try to find the right way and point others to it.

I am Arimetheus.

If that's my name, Nimue's spell won't have any power over me. I can walk out and burn those stupid berries of hers.

If I'm wrong—or if Nimue catches me anyway and I can't stop her—I've written down what I know, about the grail, about Nimue and about the fire inside her and where it came from.

Don't let her win.


	3. Borders

It was night when the Apprentice reached the keep. Its stone wall was too high to climb, though the boy was considering it as he pounded on the thick, oaken door, wondering if anyone would open it.

At last, it was hauled open. A young woman stood on the other side, looking down on him curiously. She was dark, darker than Nimue though not as dark as the Master. Her skin was a rich, reddish brown not quite like anyone's he had ever seen before. Her hair was thick and wavy, obsidian black. She wore work clothes, a brown tunic and a skirt a few shades darker that came midway between her knees and ankles. They looked new and unworn. She wore unscuffed boots polished to a mirror-hue. He couldn't tell if she were a peasant dressed in her best or a noble dressed for working in her own fields. A large dog stood beside her. It was a bit like an Alsatian except he'd never heard of one so big. Also, it was gray with black spots that seemed to shimmer along its back like shadows when it moved, reminding him of light glittering on a serpent's scales. It growled at him, a snake's tail whipping back and forth.

"Easy, Spot," the woman said, pulling the dog back. She gave the Apprentice as odd look, as though she were sure he shouldn't be there. "What do you want?" she asked.

"I. . . ." the Apprentice trailed off uncertainly, not sure what he could or couldn't say to this woman. "I'm looking for someone," he said. "A witch, Nimue. She was traveling with my master."

"Your master?"

The Apprentice hesitated. Was this woman working with Nimue? She _looked_ safe enough—but that's what the master had thought about Nimue, hadn't he?

But, what else could he say that would make her listen?

"His name is Merlin."

The woman frowned, trying to place the name. "A wizard, correct? No, not a wizard. A guardian." Her eyes narrowed as she looked down at the apprentice. "Did _he_ send you here?"

"No, I—I had a spell." He held up his hand, showing her the Middlemist flower.

The woman's eyes widened. "You were trying to find me?"

He shook his head. "She brought these to our town. Nimue. She said they were from her village. They don't grow anywhere else. Or they didn't."

"Your master planted them," the woman said. She frowned at the flower. "Come inside and explain."

"There isn't time—"

"If there isn't time, then you should definitely come in. Now."

There was no magic behind her order—not the way there'd been with Nimue—but the Apprentice thought she could have put power behind it if she'd wanted. He wasn't sure if that should make him less trusting or more, but this was where the spell he'd cast on the flower led him. He wasn't sure if there was any place else he could go. The boy stepped through the gate. The door crashed shut behind him.

They were in a garden. The Apprentice saw carefully tended beds of herbs and vegetables. There were berry bushes and fruit trees, paper lanterns hanging from their branches. The woman led him along a small path while asking him questions about the flowers and Nimue. She frowned as he told her how Nimue had come to their village and about the spells she'd tried to cast. Spot, like a giant shadow, padded silently behind them. A giant shadow with teeth, the boy thought.

The path itself seemed to stretch on forever. He didn't think he could see the other side of it when they began, yet it seemed to only take a few minutes to get from one side to the other, where they faced another stone wall with another oaken door, identical to the one he'd come in by.

"You mustn't step through this door," the woman said. "That would be bad. Very bad. Instead, hold out the flower and summon the one its blood calls to. I think she'll come."

"Who?" the Apprentice said. He almost asked, _What blood?_ Till he remembered the sight of NImue when she first came trudging up the road. But, that still didn't explain what the woman was saying. "I don't understand. It's Nimue's flower." _I don't want to summon Nimue._

The woman snorted. "Hardly. Flowers like that have been around for ages. There was one like it where I met my husband. You think she had anything to do with that?"

"Husband?" the Apprentice said. "You're too young to have a husband."

The woman rolled her eyes. "You sound like my mother. And I'm older than I look. Just call, will you?" She swung open the door.

For a moment, the boy couldn't see anything. The light was dimmer outside. The shadows almost seemed to move, to be coming towards the door. Spot growled. The shadows moved back. The Apprentice's eye adjusted to the gloom.

They were up on a hill, looking down at a village the Apprentice would have sworn wasn't there before—he knew all the villages and towns for miles around, and that one wasn't there. "What is that?"

"Middlemist."

"Middlemist was destroyed."

"I know. That's why it's on this side of the gate and not the other." The Apprentice stared at her. "Don't you know what this place is? This house sits squarely on the Borderland. That's another realm out there, one living boys like you don't want to set foot in, understand?"

"Living. . . . No, I don't understand. Who are you?"

"Oh, didn't I say?" She pursed her lips. "Just call me Seffy. I watch over this Border. Crossing realms— _real_ realms, not just one world to another, the _real_ ones: life, death; real, unreal—it's not like walking across a room—" She looked around them. "—or a garden. I can take you this far but no farther. The road outside that door has a toll you don't want to pay. Now, call."

The Apprentice held up the flower. "Who am I calling?"

"The one who can answer. Her name was taken from her, but she'll hear this. Call."

The Apprentice held up the flower. He tried to form an image in his mind, what he wanted, what he needed. _To stop the darkness,_ he thought. _The darkness in Nimue. The darkness she tried to kill me with. The darkness she wants the Master to help her release. Whoever you are, if you can help me stop her, come._

 _And, if you can't or if you're going to help her, stay away. I don't need you._

Something came soaring towards them, moon pale. It soared through the doorway, coming straight at him. At the last moment, Seffy put her hand out. The owl landed gently on her arm.

Only, it wasn't an owl. It was white bone and scraps of feathers that the light from the lanterns shone through. It twisted its head like an owl's, as though its skull were separate from the rest of it. Its skull was the only part of it that almost looked right. There were nearly enough feathers across its face to completely hid the bone. Its long, hooked beak was the ugly yellow of old toenails. The eyes peering out at him burned like flames.

"Your guide," Seffy said. Her dog whined, pressing close against her. Seffy patted him. "Don't worry, Spot. It's all right. I let her in, didn't I?" She reached into a pocket and pulled out a half-eaten fruit, a pomegranate, and held it out to the bird. "Sorry, not doing blood," she told it. "This will have to do instead."

The owl twisted its head before lunging forward with its yellowed beak and spearing some of the fruit. Then, more. The red spheres vanished inside its mouth but (the Apprentice watched) they didn't appear in its skeletal gullet. He didn't know where they went.

"Good," the woman said. "You can go out, now. But, you know you're coming back. You know what we need to see, don't you? Take us there."

"Us?" the Apprentice asked. Spot, giving a yip of surprise, seemed to agree.

"Us," Seffy said. "If this is what I think it is, most definitely us. I need to see this through." She led them back through the garden. The Apprentice had always had a good sense of direction—he'd had to, back when he lived on the road—but he had the uneasy feeling he could never have found his way back to the other side without Seffy's help. Direction seemed to be meaningless in this place.

They came to the door the Apprentice came in by—he couldn't say why he was certain it was the same door—it looked just like the other one and, for all he knew, there might be a thousand just like it—but he _knew_ it was the same one. Seffy pulled it open and led them out. Spot glanced back at the door as it slammed shut behind them, whipping his tail out of the way before it closed. The Apprentice had never seen a dog with a tail like that, as twisting and agile as a snake, but he didn't ask Seffy about that. He did glance at the skeleton bird.

"I thought you said things from one realm couldn't go into another."

"I said there was a toll living boys wouldn't want to pay. She's neither. Besides, she's been here before and left something behind." She smiled at the bird still perched on her arm. "Which is where you're leading us, isn't it? A warning, love, you have only the hours of darkness. What isn't taken care of by morning never will be. Now, off with you. We'll follow."

The bird took silently to the air, a scattering of feathers spreading out from its bone wings. The Apprentice had no idea how it stayed up. Seffy followed after it, Spot tagging along at her heels. The Apprentice, after a moment's hesitation, followed after.


End file.
